Nintendo dives into free-to-play with sub game

Steel Diver announced as Nintendo's first excursion into untested waters

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Nintendo has revealed that a new Steel Diver game will be its first entry into the free-to-play market.

The company told investors at a recent briefing that it was working on a game to test the new monetization strategy.

Now Shigeru Miyamoto has told IGN that this game is a follow-up to its submarine franchise Steel Diver.

This is a safe way for Nintendo to see how fans will react to free-to-play, as the first Steel Diver game wasn't a huge success and didn't sail with many critics.

But the fact the choice is safe doesn't mean it is without benefits, and Miyamoto says this is a chance for the franchise to come to the surface for fresh air.

"There is something we’re doing with the Steel Diver idea that I think is going to open things up with that game... It’s going to be very fun,” he said.

“We’re exploring from a perspective of where we can take that from a multiplayer standpoint - it's going to have this four-player battle mode that I think is going to be very interesting.”

While the executive was able to describe his vision for Steel Diver's gameplay, Miyamoto didn't want to commit to specifics about its monetization strategy, which could range from a subscription to a microtransaction model.

"It's something that we're hoping to be able to show relatively soon," said Miyamoto.

Steel Diver was a launch title for the Nintendo 3DS, but it isn't certain on what platform the new game will launch.